Terence Kelly, the officer overseeing a hearing for four Sault Ste. Marie police officers said today there was no grounds for a breath sample to be obtained from Joseph Biocchi after he hit and killed Matt Howard in February, 2010.
Kelly said that several reliable witnesses found nothing about Biocchi's behavior, smell or appearance to indicate he had been drinking.
He also said that a driver's responsibility to report a collision under the Highway Traffic Act can't implicate the driver.
He delivered his decision this morning at the Sault Ste. Marie Police Services building in the training room named for Constable Donald Doucet, who was killed by a drunk driver while on duty in 2006.
Charged under the Police Service Act with neglect of duty and disreputable conduct in that incident were Inspector Art Pluss and Sergeant Joseph Trudeau.
Constable Darren Sirie and acting Sergeant William Freeman were also charged with neglect of duty in the early morning vehicle-pedestrian collision that claimed the life of popular Sir James Dunn hockey player, 19-year old Matthew Howard.
An investigation into the officers' conduct was launched in response to charges by Howard's mother, Patricia Nisbett, that the investigation of the collision had been mis-handled by Sault Ste. Marie Police.
Howard and his girlfriend were walking along the shoulder of Queen Street East near Lorna Drive at about 3 a.m. on February 28 when Biocchi struck and killed Howard.
Biocchi was charged with careless driving and failing to drive in a marked lane but those charges were dismissed in November 2010 for a lack of evidence.
The Police Act charges against Pluss, Trudeau, Sirie and Freeman have not been dropped but legal council representing them say it is likely they will be dropped.
Prosecutor Ian Johnstone and Julien Roy have 30 days to examine Kelly's decision before making their own decision, on behalf of Nisbett, about how to proceed.
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